An Unexpected Turn Of Events
by Ravenclaw4life
Summary: After the death of a certain hero two people that otherwise would have never gotten together do. AU Obvs. Just added: Chapters 14 and 15. Read and Reviews are always nice. They let me know how I'm doing. Hope you like!
1. Miracles Do Happen

Hermione sat on the train alone. She hadn't yet recovered from the worse school year of her life. She knew that life would never be the same. Ever. She had lost one of her best friends this year. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone about what had happened. Even Ron, the one that was always smiling and joking, was depressed. He hadn't spoken to anyone since it happened. He, too, had lost his best friend.

Harry had been like a brother to both Hermione and Ron. Ron more than anyone. Now he was gone and there was no getting him back. Sure, Voldemort was destroyed, but in the end it had also killed Harry. The boy who lived was no longer living. Voldemort had finally succeeded in what he had set out to do so long ago. He had finally killed Harry Potter.

Hermione could hear a cold, bored, drawling voice outside her compartment. She didn't feel at all like dealing with Malfoy right now. He wasn't exactly her favorite person. Even if he, too, had been changed over the past year. Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father had been killed by The Dark Lord as well. Voldemort had been angry that, although the Malfoys, had come back to him, they hadn't been the one's to find him. Draco's mother, had disappeared with the rest of the other Death Eaters as soon as it was dicovered that Voldemort was at last dead. Since the death eaters were all connected to Voldemort it was assumed that they all died when he did.

Hermione didn't understand why this had to happen in her last year of Hogwarts. She should be happy. She had finally finished school. She could finally start Auror training at the ministry. She had graduated top of her class. She had in fact, set the record for best grades ever. From first to seventh year she had had full marks on everything. There was only one thing she didn't excel at particularly well. She constantly got a 99 in Defense against the dark arts. That class had been Harry's specialty. He had wanted to go into the ministry as an auror ever since fifth year. He had even gotten an excellent grade on his potions OWL in order to continue his least favorite class, since it was required to be an auror.

The drawling voice stopped and Hermione saw Draco Malfoy pass her compartment. It surprised her a bit to see tears streaming down his face. She had not seen him like this since the day he found out about the fate of his parents. He was obviously trying to conceal that he was crying and that was why he was walking away from his friends and girlfriend, Pansy.

"Oh, Drakie, come off it. It's not that bad. My parents are never around. And besides, Potty's finally dead. You should be happy. No more having to deal with "Mr. Celebrity" every day."

Hermione was just about to go into the hallway and tell Pansy off for making comments about her friend when Draco did something very unexpected.

"PANSY, WHY DON'T YOU COME OFF IT! MY PARENTS ARE DEAD! THEY ARE NEVER COMING BACK! HARRY POTTER DIED GETTING RID OF THE MAN THAT KILLED THEM! HE DID WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE! LEAVE HARRY ALONE!"

Hermione nearly died of a heart attack. _Draco Malfoy...defending Harry Potter? Miracles do happen._

Hermione stuck her head out of the compartment. By that time Pansy and the other Slytherins were back in their compartments. Draco however still stood in the hall, shaking with anger. He was muttering under her breath.

"Doesn't know....I hate her...Why did I ever go out with her?....."

"Draco...May I speak with you for a moment?" said Hermione quietly. It was strange hearing her own voice again. She hadn't spoken since it happened. She had used magic to write out her speech as head girl so that the rest of the school could see it and read it.

"Whatever..." replied Malfoy, following her into her compartment.

"Thank you."

"For what?" he asked gruffly, still visibly angry at the people that he called friends for so long.

"Defending Harry like that. I know that for most of your life you didn't like him very much. But....thank you." She didn't know what else to say considering Malfoy had also been her enemy all of her life at Hogwarts.

"I didn't do it for Harry, Granger. I did it for me. They were making fun of the fact that my parents are gone and that 'Hey look. Draco's got himself a killer inheritance.' I don't care about my parents' money. Harry killed the one man that I would have myself killed. And he died doing it. I'm glad Voldemort is dead, but, no one ever had to die to stop him."

"It was inevitable, really. Trelawney made that prophesy about their final fight. She said that they may or may not get out alive. Besides. When was the last time one of that Crazy old bats prophesies actually came true? Never. No one thought it was going to happen but it did."

Hermione could tell that the subject was getting to Draco. In fact she could tell that it was getting to herself. She decided to drop it. She needed to talk to someone. It might as well be Malfoy, even if she never really got along with him. She didn't feel like walking up and down the train looking for her other best friend. She decided then to ask Draco about what he was going to be doing this summer.

" I'm starting auror training," was his reply to her inquiry.

" Thats great. So am I. Ron is, too. We decided to go through with it. Even after that happened. Harry would have wanted us to. He would have wanted us to continue what we had always promised we would do together."

" Weasley? An auror? Did he really pass enough OWLs to manage that?"

This peeved Hermione. She was appreciative to Malfoy for standing up to Pansy but she didnt appreciate it when her remaining friends were spoken about behind their backs. She was looking for a way out of speaking to Malfoy when, thankfully, the train pulled into Kings Cross.

" I guess I'll be seeing you this summer then," was her goodbye for Draco. She felt bad when she saw him walk away all alone. It was the first time since she had met him that he was alone. She saw Ron's family. The usual vibrant quality that surrounded the Weasley's was gone. They had lost their spark as well.

" Hermione, dear," sniffed Mrs. Weasley, pulling her into a hug. Harry had been like another son for them and that was saying something. They already had Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred, George and Ron. Not to mention their daughter, Ginny.

" Come by the house any time you feel like it. You know you're welcome. You'll be working with Ron and Arthur so come, even if it is for work."

" Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. I have to go now. I see Mum and Dad. I'll tell Ron if I'm coming to visit." She then turned to Ron, " See you in a few days. Oh, and I have news. We're to be working with, Malfoy."

Hermione heard Ron mutter the words " Slimy Git" as she walked away.


	2. Cleaning House

_ ::Granger of all people, wanting to talk to me. Things have gotten very strange over the past few months::,_ contemplated Draco.

Draco was sitting in the living room of his large mansion, alone. He would always be alone if he was in this house now. Not to say that it hadn't always felt alone in the large mansion that Draco had grown up in.

His father had always been away, paying off some ministry official or another. That, of course, had all stopped when Fudge got booted out of office. Under the new minister, whom his father had been none too friendly with, that didn't fly. As Minister of Magic Arthur Weasley had put an end to all bribes and things of that sort.

His mother had been home but it didn't seem like she was ever there. She was always hosting, or planning some kind of get together. Most of these events included the shallow people with whom Draco's family associated with constantly. Draco doubted if any of the people his parents had hung around with were even their friends.

_::They were just scared of us weren't they. They were just around us because of our money.::_ He thought sullenly. _:: Malfoy Manor is going to be a very lonely place. More lonely than it ever was before. At least now I won't have to deal with them showing me off to all of their friends. ' This is our son, Draco. Wonderful child. Delightfully evil. He takes after his father so much. Future Death Eater here'. God, that's all I ever was to them. Something to show off.::_

He got up and walked over to the mantle. In any other home it would have played host to any number of pictures. In the Malfoy home however, there were only things relating to the dark arts. A shrunken head, a severed hand, and a death eaters mask were among the many things held on this rather scary excuse for a mantle.

Draco couldn't bear the sight of the objects. For some reason they reminded him terrible of his parents, people whom he had never really known. Draco took out his wand. "I'm going to get rid of all this stuff," he muttered to himself. "I can't bear to have anything to do with this stuff."

One by one he rid the mantle of the things he hated, things he had long since been told were important Malfoy family heirlooms. This heir apparently did not want anything to do with these "looms".

He was suddenly startled by a high pitched squeak uttered from behind him. "Wha-what is you doing Master Draco? Why is you getting rid of such precious things to your family?" squeaked his personal house-elf Polly.

She was in utter dismay at the fact that objects, which she had always been told were sacred, were gone. Polly always did as she was told, she was the perfect example of a house-elf. She was, in fact, the complete opposite of her brother, Dobby.

"I got rid of those things because they remind me of the terrible things my Mother and Father were involved in and they remind me of what happened to them. Besides, if I'm going to become an auror I can't have things like that lying around my house. In fact, get the other elves. Tell them I want all things pertaining to the dark arts gone. Nothing that is reminiscent of Voldemort is going to be in this house."

With that he went to rid his room of anything that his parents would have taken pleasure in him having.


	3. Healing Spells and A Mission

"Malfoy defending Harry. That's Bleeding Crazy. I think the world's gone and flipped itself upside down. I never thought I'd see the day..." Ron trailed off.

It was Tuesday and Ron and Hermione had arrived early for their first day of auror training. They were sitting alone in the room that they were supposed to meet their teacher in. Hermione had just told Ron about what Malfoy had said to Pansy.

"He looked really sad when we got off the train. I hope he's alright," whispered Hermione.

"I'm fine," came a drawling voice from behind her.

"Draco, what makes you think we were discussing you?" said Hermione with a nervous laugh.

"I've been here since you finished telling our distinguished Minister's son about our chat. And I'm fine. I've been venting my anger over the past few days. I got rid of all my parents "dark" belongings."

"Alright you three, have a seat," stated a voice that sounded very familiar to Ron and Hermione. "Are you three seriously the only one's that actually got good enough grades to go into the auror training program?"

The speaker was an attractive woman in about her mid-twenties or early thirties. She had shockingly pink hair. Suddenly her magenta locks turned a bright shade of blue. The had also grown quite long.

"No, Tonks. There was one more. But..." Hermione trailed off. Everyone present knew who the fourth person had been.

"Right. I really didn't want to bring that up," said Tonks, rather sadly. "You must be Draco," she continued, turning to him.

"Uh...yeah," He muttered, turning away. He did so because he didn't want to stare. He had never met a metamorphmagus before.

"Malfoy, She doesn't bite. We've known Nymphadora here for years, " said Ron.

"Ronald Weasley, how many times must I tell you. I don't like being referred to as 'Nymphadora'. I prefer Tonks."

"Right, I'll call you Tonks so long as you don't use the full name bit. Mum does that all the time."

"Fine. We have an accord. Anyway, I think we should begin."

Tonks gave them a rather long description of all the things the would need to learn that year. Then she went into teaching them some slightly complicated healing spells. Its surprised Tonks, as well as Ron and Hermione, that Draco was the only one that could perform the spells. This especially surprised Hermione.

"How? Where? When?" was all she could stammer.

"My dad. He paid off the Restriction of Underage Magic Department so that I could learn magic while I was at home over the summer," said Draco.

"Surprise, Surprise," muttered Ron under his breath.

"Shove it, Weasley. I'm not proud of what my Mum and Dad did while they were alive."

Draco could no longer stand being blamed for what his parents had done. People had been calling him a dark wizard since his parents died. He was sick of it.

_:: I'm not them...I'm not the death eater...I don't like those things anymore.::_

"Draco. Wait," called Hermione from down the hall.

"Why should I? You're friend in there keeps making stupid comments like that. I am sick of people treating me like an outsider, like I'm the one that did something wrong."

"No offense, Draco, but you really can't blame Ron for what he's saying. You used to make fun of his family all the time. Making comments that were ten times worse. ' Hey, Weasley. How come you're Dad's such a muggle lover.' ' I hear you live in box'. Things like that. Come to think of it I think I owe you a few tries," she said, trying to make him laugh. Unfortunately for her, it didn't work.

"I need to be alone. I'm going home. Besides, we were due to get out in 5 minutes anyway." Those were the last works he said to her before dissapparating. With a loud "pop" he was gone from the ministry building.

  
  
Hermione ran into the room where Tonks and Ron were still sitting, shell- shocked. She explained to them that Draco had gone home. She then asked Tonks if there was any way that she could find out where Draco lived.

"Try the department of Magical Realty. Even if his house is 300 years old they should have it on file. We have to have things like that on file. In order to keep magic folk and muggles in peaceful separation."

Hermione then left the room to continue on to the Department of Magical Realty. She had to find out where Draco lived.


	4. Hermione's Idea

There was a loud knock on the huge oak door of the manor. Draco was lying on his bed writing. He had just taken a shower and still hadn't gotten dressed. He had his towel wrapped tightly around his waist, and his platinum blonde hair was falling in his face dripping on the paper. There was a knock on his bedroom door.

"Master Draco, sir. There is a woman here to see you. She did not mention her name, only that she works with you," said a house-elf in a white towel.  
  
"Send her in here, then." Draco could care less if she saw him half-naked, whoever she was. He was wondering who when- "Hermione," he said. "I didn't expect to have you come over. How did you get my address anyway? I never give it out."

Hermione looked away as Draco was speaking. She tried to pretend she was looking at a painting on the wall. It was a portrait of Draco. She was really, however, trying to keep Draco from noticing that she was turning a bright shade of red.

"I was worried about you after you just left like that so I...went to a friend of Mr. Weasley's in the Department of Magical Realty. I'm sorry...I didn't realize that you were taking a shower. I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I really am. I'll go now. I just wanted to check up on you." She turned to leave.

"No, stay. Please," said Draco, grabbing onto her wrist as she did so. Hermione was surprised by his action. Draco was even surprised by himself. After all the times that he made fun of her and taunted her, this certainly was a big surprise.

"I want you to stay. Please do. Please don't go. I'm all alone in this house. Its entirely too big for me to be having tea all by myself. Its all quite depressing actually," he said cracking a small smile.

Hermione liked the way that the light shone in Draco's gray eyes when he smiled even if it was a sad sort of smile. It reminded her of the way light reflected off of the silver crayon in the box.

"You can go wait for me in the kitchen if you want. It's the third door on the right. Let me point you in the right direction. Or if you want to wait in here while I go change I can come with you."

"I think I'll wait for you. This house is enormous. I might end up getting lost," stated Hermione in awe.

"Good point. I'll only be a minute."

While Draco changed Hermione looked around the room. The furniture was absolutely stunning. The bed was a large four poster, like the ones at Hogwarts, with emerald green hangings. The mattress looked as if it was made of clouds. Hermione wanted to lie down on it and go to sleep, just from looking at it. The writing desk was also quite elegant. It was made of mahogany, from what Hermione could tell, and it was beautiful.

Hermione looked back to the portrait of Draco. He looked different from the Draco that she had been talking to only moments before. The Draco in the painting looked like stone. He looked as if he was made of something cold and hard. The Draco she had been speaking to was warm looking, like freshly baked bread. He had an energy about him that set Hermione's blood rushing through her veins. Hermione had to admit, though, that when Draco wanted to he could look like that boy in the painting. He could be as cold and as cruel as they come. She should know. She had seen that boy many a time at school and she had seen him earlier today.

When Draco returned he was wearing gray pants and a Kelly green sweater with a white button down shirt underneath it. The ensemble fit him perfectly. From all the green in the room and the outfit Draco was wearing she could tell that his favorite color was green.

"All done," he exclaimed. "Care to join me for some tea? The kitchen is this way." As he said this he left the room with Hermione following closely behind him as they went to the kitchen.

The kitchen was almost as large as Draco's living room, which Hermione had seen on the way in. She had only ever seen a kitchen this large at Hogwarts when, in her fourth year, she had sneaked into the school kitchen to visit Dobby. Tea was set out on a beautiful antique silver tray. The cups were ivory and looked rather expensive. They probably were considering it was Malfoy's tea set. As Draco sat down and poured Hermione some tea he began to enjoy speaking to her.

"I really don't know if I can stay here by myself," he explained. " I'm thinking of selling the manor. But...who would want to buy a home from any of the Malfoys now. I wouldn't blame them either. And I would sell it to muggles but the house is full of magic from generations of wizards living here."

"I don't think you should sell the house. It's a lovely house. It would be a shame to sell it. Why don't you advertise in The Daily Prophet to rent out some rooms? That way you could make some money and you wouldn't be here alone."

"Like I said before, no one in the wizarding world is going to want to live in a house that the Malfoys have inhabited. No one," he sounded depressed as he said this.

"I would. In fact, I've been looking for an apartment so that I could move out of my parent's house. Ron wants to move out of his Mum and Dad's house as well. We could move in with you. I could pay you rent every month. It could work."

"I don't need money, Hermione. I have plenty of it. But that would be nice. I think I can use other humans in the house. It's fine if you stay here, if that's what you really want. You can try and convince Weasley but I highly doubt that he's going to want to move in with me."

"Alrighty then. I will speak with Ron. Who knows? He might decide to move in."


	5. Moving In

Ron did agree to move in with Draco and Hermione, to everyone's surprise even his own. He needed to get out of the house. He needed to be free. In other words, he couldn't stand his Mum's nagging anymore. What made matters worse were by far the constant stream of visitors, delegates and owls that kept coming to the house. It was like a never-ending conveyor belt of information from the Ministry. Ron was happy for his Dad but...it was too much for him to handle. Besides, it was just him, mum, dad, and Ginny in the house now. Charlie and Bill were married, Percy had moved to London to get away from the family that he had betrayed, and Fred and George were living above their joke shop, which was doing quite well for it's second year of business.

It was a week later when Hermione and Ron moved into Malfoy Manor. Ron was so in awe of the whole residence and the fact that he was to be living there that halfway up the walk with his trunk he stopped. There was absolutely no moving him. It was as if a basilisk had stared him down.

"It's Bloody Brilliant," he kept repeating. "Bloody Brilliant."

"Ron, move. You're blocking the driveway," said Hermione, tapping her foot impatiently.

When he finally did move and he stepped inside he was again dumbfounded.

"Wow..."

"Make yourselves at home, I'll show you where your rooms are. They're a bit far away from my room but I like my privacy. And this way you two get privacy as well. It works out for everyone, really."

Draco took them on a quick tour of the house, on the way escorting them to their rooms. They were in the east wing on the third floor of the house, while Draco's was on the first floor in the west wing. Each room had been expertly decorated by the house-elves. The furniture in each room was identical to the furniture that Hermione had seen in Draco's room. The only difference was the color schemes. Hermione's room was decorated with a dark pink motif, while Ron's room had a deep, navy blue motif.

Everything was more elegant than anything the new arrivals had ever seen. They could not believe that they would be living here. And the best part was that Draco had stated that they need not pay rent. The only thing they had to do was buy the groceries every other week and cook one meal of their week. It was a wonderful arrangement, for all parties. Draco got companionship, which was what he desperately wanted, and Hermione and Ron got a place to live for next to nothing.

After about a month or so of living together the three gradually became friends. They each had a rather empty spot in their lives. With each other the void was filled. For Hermione and Ron it was like gaining back a good friend. For Draco it was gaining the first real friends that he had ever had in his life. Goyle and Crabbe were nothing to him now. Pansy was a distant, horrible, memory. For Hermione and Draco things were a bit more than friendly, though neither of them wanted to admit it.

Draco enjoyed seeing the bushy haired Hermione in the morning, without makeup and jewelry. Hermione liked the way Draco's hair looked in the morning, and she didn't mind getting to see him without his shirt on almost every morning. For both of them going to the indoor pool was wonderful.

Hermione got to see Draco in just his swim trunks and Draco got to see Hermione in nothing but a red bikini. Ron was completely oblivious to the fact that they were flirting left and right with each other. Then again, Ron had always been oblivious, hadn't he?


	6. Homework Help and Mysterious Noises

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Obviously. And i should have made ya'll aware of that in the first chapter...but hey....I'm lazy...what can I say.

Dedication: This chapter is for Shannon. Who wanted to read what I wrote at the movies but I wouldn't let her. Then she got her hands on a piece of the chapters draft.

"Hermione, Can you help me with this spell?" called Draco from his room. He was lying on the bed reading from his textbook. 

It was Christmas Eve and Hermione and Draco were at home alone for the week. Ron had gone home to visit his parents. Hermione was not at home because her parents had taken a cruise. They claimed that they needed a break from their dentistry practice, but Hermione knew that they really needed a break from her little sister. Sometimes Em could be such a brat. They had dumped the 13 year old at her grandmother's house for the week. Draco was of course at home because he had no where to go.

"Sure. Which one is it?" she asked.

"This one," he said taking out his wand and pointing at the page in his textbook where the spell was. Hermione turned to look at Draco.

"Well, that one's easy all you need to do is..." She never finished her sentence. She couldn't. Draco had kissed her. It was the best experience she had ever had in her life. The only guy that she had ever kissed was Viktor Krum, and he wasn't exactly the best kisser on this planet. The only thing Viktor really had an affinity for was Quidditch. He was wonderfully entertaining while he was on a broomstick but off of one and he was duck-footed and rather clumsy.

"Wow," was all she managed to say before Draco kissed her again. When their lips left each other she asked him a question.

"What was that for?" Malfoy blushed.

"I actually have no idea. At all. It just sort of happened." Hermione then kissed him.

"Well then I'm glad that it just sort of happened." The two were about to kiss again when-

"What was that?"

"What was what, Draco?"

"I thought I heard a noise, in the hallway? But that can't be. We're home alone. Weasley can't have come back from his parent's house yet, can he?"

"Ron isn't due back until Tuesday night. That can't be him."

A/N: Thanks to everyone thats been reviewing. Sorry that I haven't updated in a few days. The only time I really have time to write is when I take my brother to the pool and we haven't done that in a few days. Thought I might leave you all hanging in this chapter. Plus I havent finished the next one...Oh well...Read and Review...


	7. Those mysterious noises aren't so myster...

Little did the pair know that it was Ron lurking around in the hallway. He had forgotten his brother Charlie's gift at home and was getting it when he looked into Hermione's room to say a quick hello. He had, however, found the room devoid of life.  
::Where could she be? And where's the prat? Might as well stop by his room and see if he knows where she went:: thought Ron as he hurried down the hall, carrying the brass dragon that he had bought for Charlie.  
"Oy, Malfoy. Have you seen-," Ron stopped in mid-sentence. Hermione and Draco had apparently chosen to ignore the noises in the hall and had started to kiss again. Unfortunately for them Ron had just walked in on them, about to go a bit beyond kissing.  
"BLOODY HELL!!! 'MIONE!!! Wha-I-how?" were the next words that came from the shocked redhead's mouth. The scene that he beheld was of Hermione and Draco sitting on Draco's bed, Draco's hand undoing the top button of Hermione's shirt.  
The next few seconds were a jumble. All three were too busy yelling or making excuses to hear each other. When everyone had calmed down and Ron stood next to the desk, too stunned for words, Draco was the first to speak.  
"She was helping me with my homework."  
"Yeah, right , Malfoy. Last time I checked the homework didn't involve making out with my best friend."  
"We were practicing mouth to mouth resuscitation," was Hermione's excuse.  
"You're kidding right? 'Mione, I'm not going to fall for that. You of all people should remember that we're wizards and don't need to do that stuff."  
With that the guilty look that had just appeared on the faces of both of the parties involved intensified. They knew that Ron wasn't going to fall for any excuses that they threw at him. They knew that it was better for them to just tell the truth. That didn't, however, mean that they were going to tell him the truth.  
"We were...um...acting under the cruciatus curse. Yeah that's it. The cruciatus curse."  
"Malfoy. I'm not stupid. You were making out and from the looks of it you were about to do more than that."  
It was only then that Draco realized that his hand was still on the buttons of Hermione's shirt. He pulled it away quickly before anyone had a chance to notice. Hermione, sick of the charade, finally gave in to telling the truth.  
"Yes, Ron. Draco and I were kissing. Why should it matter to you why we did it though? It's my life and I can bloody well kiss anyone that I please. Besides, what are you doing home anyway?"  
"I left Charlie's present here, if you must know. I went to say goodbye, when I found you weren't in your room. I came down here to see if Malfoy knew where you had gone off to. I instead found you two on the verge of doing it."  
"Don't exaggerate, Weasley. We weren't on the verge of doing it. We were kissing. Besides, we like each other."  
"You have got to be kidding me, 'Mione. You like this prat?" inquired Ron, shock registering in his voice.  
"Yes, I do Ron. I have since, well, since the first time he called me a mudblood," said Hermione, rather quietly. She hadn't really felt like revealing that little tidbit of information to anyone. Not even her diary knew that little fact. From the look on his face, Draco had not been expecting to hear that answer at all. Neither had Ron. The normally talkative teenager was in shut down mode. He couldn't ever get out a stammer. He just stood there with his mouth touching the floor. Finally he turned to leave.  
"Ron, where are you going?" said Hermione, as she followed after him.  
"I have to go back to Mum and Dad's," he said blankly, right before he apparated out of the house.

A/N: Short Chapter, I know. I just wanted to get what was hiding in the hallway out of the way. Sorry I haven't updated in quite a while. Despite how short this chapter was it took the longest amount of time to write. Never fear, however. I am working on my next chapter right now. Anyways, I hope you like it. R.R


	8. A dream and an Epiphany

Hermione was shocked by what she had just done. Ron was her best friend and now it was possible that he might never speak to her again. She faced Draco as she turned around. When he made a move to speak she raised her hand to silence him. She didn't feel like talking to him, or anyone right now. Hermione decided to go to bed early.  
Walking up to her bedroom, Hermione felt the most alone that she had since moving into Malfoy manor. As soon as she opened the door she plopped down on her bed and pulled the hangings closed. She lay down without taking her clothes off and closed her eyes. Hermione was surprised to find tears trailing down her face. Trying to ignore them, she buried her face in her pillow and fell asleep.  
The dream that ensued was the strangest and most vivid dream that Hermione had ever had. Hermione was back in hogwarts. The room she was in appeared very familiar, and yet, it was somehow strange. She noticed the 5 beds with scarlet hangings and realized that she was in a Gryffindor dormitory. Which dormitory she was in remained a mystery.  
She turned around to find the door opening slowly. When it finally did she saw a person that she missed greatly, a person that she would never see again. She was facing Harry. She was surprised to find that he looked rather angry.  
"Harry," Hermione said, in a rather bewildered tone.  
"Hermione, how could you let Ron walk in on you like that?"  
"What do you mean? How did you know about that? Harry, you're dead."  
"I realize that. And I may be dead but I'm not blind, or deaf. I saw what you were doing and I heard Ron the minute he walked back into his mum and dad's house. Hermione, did you ever realize that Ron's liked you since about 3rd year?"  
"He has? I had no idea," she thought for a second, and regained her composure after the shock of that statement. "Why should I care anyway? He never acted like it. Besides, I like Draco. Always have."  
"Yeah, heard that, too. You know, I can't believe you never told either of us that itsy bitsy little fact," Harry said with spite clearly resonating in his voice.  
Hermione couldn't stand getting ragged upon like this. It wasn't her fault she liked Draco. She couldn't help who she liked, things like that just sort of happened. She turned around in shame. She should have told them but-  
"I couldn't tell you. Do you know how you would have reacted? I do. I've been thinking through what would have happened since I realized that I liked him. It's the same kind of reaction that Ron gave me today. I couldn't do it."  
Hermione heard Harry's breathing grow shallow. She could tell he was angry. In fact, she could tell he was seething. She had to make this better...somehow. Everything she that came to her mind would only make things worse.  
"I'm not the girl you used to know," she said meekly.  
"Obviously," Harry snarled.  
"I've changed."  
To this Harry only scoffed.  
"I've grown."  
"Yeah, okay," Harry said sarcastically.  
"Maybe someday you'll see I have changed and become-"  
"What? A liar? A traitor?"  
"No, Harry. Me! I've become Me," she said, on the verge of tears.  
"You obviously aren't the person I used to know. The old Hermione wouldn't go and make out with Malfoy. In fact, when I knew you, you were somewhat of a goodie goodie..."replied Harry bitterly.  
"Harry, You knew me as the girl always sitting in the back, always raising her hand politely. Never talking back. You knew me as the one who knew the answer to every question. That's not me now, Harry. This is real life. Reality. You're dead. You don't have to deal with it. I do. It's not as simple as when we were in school. You can't learn about life from a book. You can try, and lord knows I have, but you won't succeed. Life doesn't revolve around books. I've learned that now. I should have known it all along but...Oh I don't know. I was too wrapped up in trying to do well in school that I forgot me. I forgot that I was more important than anything in a book. I lost me."  
"That's touching, really. But is that supposed to mean anything to me. You've gotten selfish, you really have," Harry said, with a tone that stung Hermione as if it were made of venom.  
"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S ACTING SELFISH, HARRY, NOT ME! YOU KNOW WHAT? I REALLY COULD CARE LESS THAT YOU'RE DEAD NOW! I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND BUT APPARENTLY NOT! IF YOU CAN'T ACCEPT A DECISION THAT I MADE THEN YOU HAVE NO RIGHT BEING MY FRIEND!" Hermione screamed at Harry. She had let all the anger that she had ever had bottled up inside of her come out at once, at Harry. As she tried to control her breathing, the edges of the room around her began to blur, fade, and distort. Finally the room was gone. The same thing happened to Harry next, and before she knew it the dream was gone.  
Hermione awoke in a cold sweat, breathing shallow but controlled. She realized that she was crying again. 


	9. I think I love you

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except the plot. MY PLOT NOT UR PLOT!!! MINE ALL MINE!!!**  
  
" What just happened," Hermione whispered to herself. She was sitting on her bed. Tears were silently falling down her face. Her dream had scared her. Was that really Harry coming to her in a dream? Or was it that she felt guilty about having kissed Draco?

" That can't have been Harry," she said softly. " That sounds like something Professor Trelawney would believe in, and I know that she's just an old fraud. But then again...her prophesy did come true...kind of." Hermione could still not come to the realization that twice her ex-professor had been right.

She looked at the clock. It was four in the morning. :: It's as good a time as any to wake up:: she thought.

Hermione crawled out of bed slowly. She silently decided she was going to go by Draco's room. It was more of a subconscious thought than anything else. Maybe he could help her sort all this out. He was the only person that she had now. The only one that would listen to her.  
  
She pulled her satin bath robe over her nightgown. Slipping on her slippers she quietly opened her bedroom door. She walked down the hall to the stairs. She took them to the first floor and made the familiar way to Draco's room. Hermione knocked.  
  
Draco, looking sleepy eyed, opened the door. His hair was tousled and he was wearing only a pair of emerald boxers. They had silver Slytherin crests on them. He was wearing glasses, which surprised Hermione. In all of her time here she had never once seen him in glasses. She had to admit that he looked very good like that. A/N: I know that Draco is never once mentioned to have glasses but boo frickedy hoo...It's my story, my world, mine mine mine....I can make him wear glasses if I want to.  
  
" What's up," he asked, as he rubbed his eyes, tiredly.  
  
" I know this sounds stupid but...ummm...I had a bad dream. Can I talk to you?" Hermione said. She was rather embarrassed about something like that.  
  
" Sure. Tell me about your dream."  
  
Hermione described her dream to Draco. She remembered it vividly. She usually forgot details of her dreams but this one was burned into her mind. It gave her a weird feeling inside.  
  
" Potter," muttered Draco. " He really said all that in your dream?"  
  
" Yes."  
  
" That bastard. And I bothered standing up for him? Seems a waste of time to me now. Figures though. He never liked me. Come to think of it, I don't think Ron ever really trusted me either. This is my fault. I kissed you."  
  
" It's not your fault. It's no ones fault. Things like this are uncontrollable. Besides, that was probably just my way of dealing with stress. It was just a dream Harry's dead. That can't have been him."  
  
" Hermione, with all the reading that you've done I'm surprised at you. You should know by now that the dead that don't become ghosts have a kind of way of coming back in dreams. They like to scare their friends or yell at them and stuff when they do something that the deceased person doesn't like. Whether you want to realize it or not, that was Harry. But it's alright. He can't hurt you." He held her close to him as he said this. He kissed her gently on the top of her head. Hermione remained silent. She simply nodded as he spoke.  
  
The pair sat on Draco's bed like that for several minutes. Hermione was the next to speak.  
  
" Draco, I used to think you were the worst person in the whole world," she said.  
  
" I know," was his reply.  
  
" I'm not so sure now. Since Harry died Ron's been distant. You're the only person I can talk to now. Tonks doesn't really understand these things. But you do."  
  
" Hermione, can I tell you something?" She nodded, her head resting in his muscular chest.  
  
" I think I love you," he said softly as he lifted her chin with his hand. He kissed her.  
  
**Short I know. But I thought I might leave you all with that. Sorry I hadn't updated in so long. I've been busy with band and writing my marching band/Harry Potter fic. Plus I had a bit of writers block. I'm going to start on the next chapter in a little while. I don't know how long it'll take though...Anyways. Ta Ta for now....**


	10. A painful present An even more painful p...

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING NADA ZIP ZERO ZILCH!! Except my plot...mine...my plot...

Ron was lying on his bed looking thoroughly depressed. He had the sudden urge to kick something (or someone) very hard. Maybe he could even throw something....no....that would only get his mother mad at him. She was already mad at him for acting like a sourpuss all through Christmas dinner. It hadn't helped Molly's mood that halfway through the meal two owls had flown into the dining room almost simultaneously, landing on the table in front of Arthur with two urgent messages from the ministry. Arthur had to leave the table and was not seen for the rest of the meal.

Shortly after dinner Ron had stalked up to his room, locked the door, and lay down on his bed. His thoughts and sadness came in floods and rivers. He was there forever, when, at about 3 in the morning a soft knock came at the door.

"Go away," Ron said hoarsely.

The knock came again.

"Did you bloody well not here me? I said go away."

"Alohomora," whispered a voice on the other side. The lock clicked open. Ron's sister, Ginny, walked in. "I'm not going away," she said firmly.

"Oh and why not?" Ron's voice was full of venom.

"Because you're my brother and I care about you and I can tell when something's wrong. Now what happened? I heard you whisper something like ' I hope she's happy with that jerk" when you apparated into the house."

"Nothing happened, Gin. Now go away. I want to be alone."

"Not until you tell me what happened. It was Hermione, wasn't it?" Ginny was calm as she said this. She had a feeling that this had something to do with her friend.

"So what if it is?" Ron muttered.

"Listen, Ron. If you don't stop being such a baby I'm going to brew up that truth serum we've been working on in Potions and MAKE you tell me what happened with you two. I know you like her, so there's no denying it." Ginny suddenly looked very much like Molly when she was angered by one of her sons.

The thought of being forced to take a truth serum didn't faze Ron in the slightest. He remained as stubborn as ever. Finally after much annoying "Tell me what happened" from Ginny he broke.

"Malfoy. That's what happened to get me mad at Hermione. Malfoy. OK? There. That's all."

"That's not all. What about Malfoy?"

"I found Hermione in Malfoy's room, with his tongue practically all the way down her throat. Apparently she's liked him since forever. I got pissed and I left."

"Hermione? And Malfoy? I didn't think that was possible. That's the last relationship that would pop into my head anyway."

"Can we please not talk about this now?"

Ginny could see the pain on her older brother's face. She could tell it hurt him to just think about it, but being locked in his room only gave him more time to think about it. That would only make him feel worse. Ginny knew what that kind of pain felt like. She had felt the same thing after Harry's death, they all had felt that pain. She had perhaps been the person most sorely affected by it though. In one short instant she had lost the only man that she had ever really cared about, and that pained her more than anything that had ever happened in her life.

Ginny could remember the day she found out about Harry's death like it was yesterday. It was a warm day in June. Dumbledore had been absent from the school all day and Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to be missing. Not one of them had been seen in classes or in the common room since earlier the night before. Neville had told Ginny that Ron and Harry disappeared around midnight. What scared her most was that right before dinner Professor McGonagall called her into her office. On the way up to the Headmistress's office all that Ginny could think about was "Oh God. What happened?"

::Flashback::

When Ginny stepped into the room there were other people there besides the Headmistress. Dumbledore, Ron, and Hermione were there as well. One face, however, was missing. It took the young girl only an instant to realize that her boyfriend, Harry, was missing. Harry was nowhere to be seen.

"Ms. Weasley, you might want to sit down," said the Headmaster, offering her his chair. For some reason the old man looked even older than usual. He also looked extremely pale. Ron and Hermione were sitting, staring at the ground. They're expressions were what stood out to her the most. They looked pained, sickly, not at all the vibrant expressions that she was used to seeing at the dinner table, cracking jokes.

"What's wrong? What happened?" said Ginny. She refused to sit down in the proffered chair. There was a definite note of fear in her voice.

A low voice came from the corner. It was quiet but Ginny could tell who was speaking. " Harry's dead." The voice was pained and full of sorrow.

Ginny gasped as her legs grew weak and she fell into the chair. "You're lying, Ron." She said this as bitter tears ran down her cheeks.

"He's not," whispered Hermione, as a tear ran silently down her cheek. She started shaking silently.

The professors had thus far remained quite silent.

"I'm afraid your brother is telling the truth," McGonagall said weakly.

"How?" Ginny was beginning to get a sick feeling in her stomach. It was as if the bottom had dropped out of it and all that was left was a black hole.

"I called your brother, Ms. Granger, and Harry away last night because I had heard a rumor of the Dark Lord coming to attack them. We went to a designated hiding place but just as we got there we were attacked. Harry and Voldemort battled. Harry defeated him but his injuries were so extensive that...that...he didn't make it. He died a hero's death," explained the headmaster.

Hearing the last part, Ginny broke down. "IT WAS YOUR FAULT!!! YOUR'S!!!" the distraught girl screamed at the old man. He merely winced and bore her accusations. Finally, too tired to scream anymore, she muttered something that sounded like "I have to go" and left, breaking into a run as she made her way up to the Gryffindor common room. Everyone was at dinner so she was safe to go up to her dormitory and cry as much as she wanted.

That night, halfway through dinner, Dumbledore made the announcement. The general tone in the room went from the usual happy, cheerful, last day of testing mood, to a morbid one. After they were told the news, barely anyone had much of an appetite. Girls could be seen crying at every table, except perhaps at the Slytherin table. Most of them had a look of triumph on their faces. This, needless to say, sickened the rest of the school.

::End Flashback::

"Ginny? Gin?" Ron's voice broke through Ginny's thoughts.

" What?" Thinking about what had happened months ago had caused her to zone out. Realizing this she got up to leave. "I have to go. Sleep and all that good stuff. Feel better. And ignore what Hermione did. She doesn't deserve you."

"Right," Ron muttered as his sister closed the door behind her. He closed his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.

**My sincerest apologies for making people wait so long for this chapter. I've been busy with band and school and I wrote this on an extended weekend. Read Review. Just no flaming me. I don't appreciate it. If you don't like it DON"T READ IT. That's all I have to say about that. Oh and did you all think that I was going to make Hermione say "I love you" back to Draco? HAHA!! I got all of you're hopes up didn't I? Well too bad...I decided to have a bit of what Ron's going through...but mostly what happened directly after Harry died, however briefly I did write that part, since we hadn't seen her at all and since one of my major Ships is Harry/Ginny.**


	11. A white Christmas

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada, zip zilch...

Draco awoke the next morning with Hermione lying next to him. His arms were wrapped tightly around her thin waist. He was scared that if he moved he might disturb her. She looked so peaceful sleeping there. The pair fit perfectly together, the two pieces of a human jigsaw puzzle. Their bodies warmed each other in the cold manor.

Memories of the previous night flooded Draco's mind. The heat, the perfect rhythm, the synchronized motion. Perfect ecstasy, those were the only words that Draco's mind could put together to describe the night.

"Good Morning, Sunshine," whispered Hermione as she woke up and turned over to face Draco.

"Morning," said Draco, fighting a yawn.

"Sleep well?" Hermione questioned.

"What sleep? Kidding. Great."

"Good."

"Guess what," remarked Draco, looking over Hermione's well-toned shoulder at the wide window.

Hermione made a small gesture as if to say that she hadn't the faintest idea what she was to guess.

"It's snowing."

Hermione got out of the bed, taking Draco's warm, green fleece blanket and draping it over her shoulders as she strode over to the window.

:_She looks like an angel standing there. A fair, curly haired angel: _thought Draco. He smiled at the thought as he moved to join her.

Hermione shuddered slightly as Draco placed his head on her shoulder and hugged her around the waist. She had been completely caught off guard to discover how warm his alabaster skin was. It looked so cold.

"Amazing isn't it? How something so beautiful can be so cold?" Draco interrupted Hermione's thoughts.

"Not always," she said. "Sometimes something that appears as cold as ice can be as warm as fire. It's just one of those things."

"It's a perfect white Christmas."

"Yea," Hermione said distractedly. "Christmas," she exclaimed. "I'd completely forgotten after last night…I have a present for you. I'll go get it."

She made a move to leave, dragging the blanket with her. She was already at the door before she realized that she had forgotten her clothes. She hurried back to get them as Draco stared at her with wonder at how graceful she was. Beautiful, like a ballerina. Her movements were almost cat-like. She looked like she would break in half if he touched her but he knew this wasn't so. She was probably stronger, in some ways, than he was. Next to her, Draco looked moved like one of his ex-cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, hulking. Draco rather enjoyed watching her. He smiled to himself.

After she left he went to take a quick shower and get dressed. The water was hot, but nothing compared to what he and Hermione had shared. As he looked through his large assortment of outfits, after he took his shower, he picked out his favorite dark green sweater and jeans. He put the sweater on top of a white button down shirt and rolled up the sleeves. Muggles might say that he looked somewhat like an Abercrombie and Fitch model (whatever that was), with his clothes, perfect complexion, white-blonde hair, ice blue eyes, and Quidditch toned muscles. He had worn this outfit before and Hermione had said she liked the way it looked on him.

He had not forgotten that he had a gift for Hermione. It was in a little secret chamber that led off of his room. It was a tunnel that eventually opened up behind a tapestry in the entrance hall. None but the Malfoys had ever known it was there. The mansion had been there for centuries, it was common knowledge among those who had grown up there that there were many more passages. In times past the ones that opened up into secret rooms had been used to house materials for the Dark Arts, but when Draco had been getting rid of his parent's things he had gotten rid of them.

Draco pulled the parcel out of the passage with great care. It was large and old and he needed to be careful when handling it. The wizard at the store had told him that much. This was a relic of sorts, one of a kind and antique. Draco knew that Hermione would love it. It had cost him a fortune but that was nothing to him. Not when it came to Hermione.

Draco decided to sneak through the passage and then join Hermione by the gigantic Christmas tree that had been imported from the edge of the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. Only the best for the Malfoys, apparently.

When the tree came into full view, Draco was not surprised to find that Hermione was already there. She was dressed in dark blue jeans and had on a lovely pink hoodie. Underneath she had on a light grey fitted t-shirt that said Hogwarts on it and had the school crest emblazoned upon it. Both the writing and the crest were in a shiny purple. It appeared to be glitter, but Draco wasn't sure. He had never seen this shirt on Hermione before. He thought it looked good on her. Hermione smiled brightly as he came in the room, not bothering to ask why he had come the opposite way of his wing.

She gazed wonderingly at the package in his hands. It was big. All she held was a shirt box wrapped in silver wrapping paper. It was adorned with a bright green bow. Hermione was glad that she had asked the witch at the store for gift-wrapping. She was a total spaz when it came to wrapping gifts. The package that Draco held was wrapped in a pale pink paper.

"Merry Christmas," he said, as he handed her the gift. He kissed her lightly on the cheek as he did so.

"Merry Christmas." She handed him his gift and the pair sat down to open them in front of the fireplace.

Hermione gasped as she opened her present.

"Oh my…this is…," was all she could manage to exclaim.

"You like it?"

They were referring to the enormous spell book that had fallen onto Hermione's lap when she ripped off the pink wrapping paper. The ancient gold cover was adorned with nothing but the word "Spells" in purple, but it was magnificent. As Hermione turned to the first page a name shimmered on it.

"Merlin…this was…you've got to be kidding…this is MERLIN'S spell book?" she said in wonderment.

Draco nodded. He was caught off guard when Hermione jumped on him and hugged him. She had nearly knocked him over in his chair.

"Thank you. I love it," she remarked to him.

All she could do was examine the book back and forth. Draco watched her in approval. He was glad that his gift that been received the way it had been. He had been slightly afraid that she might not like it. He set to opening his present. He didn't want to rip open the paper but the anticipation was killing him.

When he opened the box he was faced with a gorgeous gray sweatshirt. As he pulled it out of the box he saw that it had the Slytherin crest on it in green and that it said "Property of Slytherin Quidditch" in the same color. He was in awe of how beautiful it was.

"Turn it around," said Hermione.

On the back it said "Malfoy" and his old Quidditch number when he had been at Hogwarts.

"Thank you. I love it," he said as he pulled the sweatshirt on.

"It's a magical sweatshirt. Climate controlled. You can wear it in the summer and it will never make you sweat. Not to mention that it never gets dirty, so you never have to wash it, and it's water resistant.

"That's amazing. I've never seen anything like it."

"I had it specially made just for you. Like I had this shirt made. Then I bewitched it using some charms that I'd picked up. Besides, it's nothing compared to this book."

"No, it is. It's better than the book. You actually put some of yourself into this gift. The book is so…impersonal."

"Alright. Let's agree to disagree," reasoned Hermione.

"Good idea, in the meantime would you like to go have some lunch. The house elves are accustomed to making a huge feast today, but since it's just the two of us today I told them to tone it down a bit."

"That sounds great. I'm starving. It feels like I haven't had a thing to eat in ages."

"I feel the same way. After we eat, do you want to go play in the snow?"

**Sorry (once again) for the long wait. Again, real life managed to take over. I apologize. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. And thanks again for waiting.**


	12. Winter Loving

Disclaimer numero uno: I don't own ANYTHING. Except my concept. But that's it.

Disclaimer Numero dos: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! This chapter contains sexual content...if you don't like it stop reading now...you aren't missing anything important to the plot...

:Splat:

A snowball hit Draco squarely in the forehead. He looked around to see where the snowball had come from. No one was anywhere around.

:Splat:

A snowball hit Draco in the back. This time he thought he heard giggling. When he looked around there was nobody visible. He shrugged it off and started to build a snowman. Five minutes passed by uneventfully when…

:SPLAT:

A snowball landed right on top of Draco's head. This time he was sure he heard giggling. From above. He looked up. There was Hermione, sitting on a broom. She burst out laughing.

"Hey," remarked Draco, eyeing the broom that Hermione was perched upon. "That's my broom."

"So?" giggled Hermione girlishly.

"You know, if you had wanted to ride my broom you could have asked. I would have gladly let you ride it."

"Oh is that so?"

"Yes, All you had to do was say 'Draco, may I please ride your broom?' and I would have gladly said 'Why, yes, Hermione that is perfectly alright. You may ride my broom whenever you like, so long as you ask first."

"So you want me to ride your broom?"

"Oh, please, go right ahead. But you might want to wait until we get inside. It's rather cold out here."

Hermione feigned being scandalized as she lowered the broom to the ground. She hopped off gently and made her way over to Draco, holding the broom in her hand.

"Cold, is it?"

"Why, yes. Bad things happen when it's cold."

"You sure? Nothing bad happened before. Why don't we try and see what happens when it's cold."

"If you must. But I'm telling you, it's better to ride my broom where it's warm."

Hermione kissed him gently on the lips as if to make him shut up. She enjoyed the way his kisses tasted. They were a mix of mint and oranges. A strange combination, but a good one nonetheless. Hermione loved kissing him. It just felt right.

Draco's hands moved to Hermione's waist as he gently pushed her to the ground. They continued to kiss as he made his way down to the zipper of her jeans. Hermione giggled softly as the cold snow touched her back and legs as Draco undid her pants and pulled them down.

She seductively removed her shirt herself, so that she was left lying on the snow covered ground in just her purple panties and bra. Hermione waited in anticipation for Draco to slowly remove her undergarments, as he had the night before, but instead he stopped momentarily to take off his own clothes, so that he was left in his silk boxers.

Hermione shuddered as Draco kissed her in between her breasts. He moved up to her neck slowly and then to her mouth, covering her in kisses. Hermione felt him grow hard in between her legs. She knew that he couldn't wait much longer. Draco pinned her hands down with his own and through some skill of his own managed to remove her bra and panties so that she lay completely naked on the ground. He released her hands so that she could remove his boxers, slowly, as she had before. Gently she moved her hands to the waistband of his boxers and moved them down his legs. He kicked them off into the snow.

The pair was now lying on a bed of snow, clothes discarded in every direction, haphazardly.

Hermione shook as Draco slid gently inside her. He started to moan softly. With every thrust that he made their unified moans grew louder and more primal. When Hermione could not take it anymore she screamed, not from fear or pain but from pure ecstasy. At the same instant Draco exploded inside her. She moaned.

"Oh, Draco."

Draco collapsed on top of her. He rolled over so that he was next to her, lying there in the snow. He was panting.

Hermione smiled at him.

"I though bad things would happen if I rode your broom in the snow."

"Guess I was wrong…"

**Two for one day. Read Review. Whatever you want...I would like reviews though. Cuz you know you love me to the max right...**


	13. A Chance Meeting

_Finally, An update for all you people who have been waiting for one since forever. I'm really sorry it took so long, major case of the writer's block...I'm basically satisfied with this one...not my best work but whatever. I'm currently working on the next chapter so hopefully you guys won't have to wait too long to get that one, if anyone still reads this darn story. Lots of love-Kristine_

_PS. As usual, comments are encouraged, let me know what you liked, what I'm doing that you don't like, etc. _

* * *

"Hey there, Stranger," came a voice from behind Ron.

He sat at the counter of The Minister's Hat pub drowning his sorrows in a large glass of firewhiskey. Funny thing was, the more inebriated Ron became the worse he felt. By the time this particular female came upon him in the pub he must have been a right mess.

"Hmm?" he muttered, snapping out of the daze that had caused him to stare endlessly into his glass.

Looking around he spotted a woman who looked vaguely familiar. In his drunken state a halo seemed to form around her straight blonde hair and her blue-gray eyes pierced through him. He knew her, of that he was certain, and yet…there was something different about her.

The hair- that had to be it. Before it had been a more…golden brown.

"Brown? Lavender?"

Finally he knew where he knew her from.

"Wow, Ron. You look awful."

It was true. Spotting his reflection in the counter before him, he realized that this had been true for about a week actually. His shaggy red hair was sticking up at odd angles, giving him an "I just stuck my finger in an outlet" look. Bluish green circles had formed under his eyes due to lack of sleep and several razorless days had left him with much more than a little bit of stubble on his chin. Actually, Hagrid himself was likely to congratulate Ron on his amount of facial hair. Worse of all were his normally laughing blue eyes; they seemed to have died, their laughter and joy completely gone, and they were almost as fiery a red as the hair on Ron's head.

"Hmm, that I do, don't I?" he stated after gazing at himself for what seemed an eternity.

"What happened to you?" inquired the stunned Lavender.

"The woman I love basically ran off with some snakey git."

With every word the drunken redhead made gestures that were truly reminiscent of Jack Sparrow. Seeing Ron in his current state made Lavender want to help him.

"Ron, honey, why don't you come over my house and give the alcohol a rest? You can sleep on my couch or I can summon up a mattress for you."

"But-"

"No buts. Come on. I live a block away. Normally I would apparate but you can barely stand up, let alone do that. We'll walk, I hope."

The trip to Lavender's house mainly consisted of Ron tripping many times over his over large feet or suddenly stopping and gazing off into space in a drunken stupor. Lavender truly felt bad for him and wondered who this girl who broke Ron's heart was.

* * *

Hermione sat staring out the kitchen window thinking about the events of the past few days. Christmas Eve had been ruined by emotions-and hormones- running extremely high in Malfoy Manor. Ever since Ron had walked in on her and Malfoy she wondered what had happened to him. It had been more than a week and Ron still hadn't come home. Hermione was, in truth, very worried about him.

A noise behind her made her do a half turn. Hermione caught a glimpse of Draco's favorite green sweater. She turned back around to face the window, holding her mug of green tea tightly in both hands, which were trembling. Draco placed his strong, gentle hands on Hermione's shoulders and massaged them, trying to calm her down.

"You're shaking, Hermione. You're not cold, are you?"

It took her a second to regain her voice and when she did it was barely above a whisper.

"No. I'm not cold."

"You're worried about Ron, aren't you?"

Hermione could only nod meekly. Words escaped her. Draco continued to massage Hermione's shoulders in an attempt to soothe her.

"You shouldn't worry about him. He can take care of himself."

Hearing Draco's words enraged her. At that moment she had been teetering on a fine line and Draco sent her over it.

"I shouldn't worry about him? I shouldn't worry about him! Are you kidding me? He's my best friend. He's all I have in the wizarding world. We've grown up together. He's like my brother."

Hermione was getting scary. With each word a fire seemed to grow in her eyes and at one point a light bulb flickered violently, eventually shattering. Draco was taken aback.

"Hermione," Draco started. "I didn't mean it like that. You know I didn't mean it like that. I meant that-"

"You meant what? What exactly did you mean, hmm? He hasn't been home in over a week. Don't you think I have a reason to be worried?"

"Yes, you do but-"

"But what?"

"Hermione just let me speak."

" Speak, then. Go ahead."

"Forget it. All I was going to say was that he'll come home when he's ready. You've told me a million times that he has a temper and that it takes him a while to get over his anger. That was all I was going to say."

Draco turned around and left the kitchen, leaving Hermione to think about what he had just said.

* * *

Ron woke early the next morning in a strange apartment. The throbbing in his head was accompanied by a cottony feeling on his tongue and a sick feeling in his stomach. Light streaming through Venetian blinds in the strange room hurt Ron's eyes. He blinked a few times and then took in his surroundings.

He was on a soft mattress in a large apartment. Next to him was a coffee table and a few feet away was a couch with flowers dotting the upholstery. A matching chair and loveseat were also in the room. Ron knew he was in the home of a witch when he looked at the bookshelf and spotted copies of all of Gilderoy Lockhart's books.

The door opened and a blonde woman whom Ron did not immediately recognize walked in. Maybe this was because it had been months since Ron had seen her and he was hung-over or perhaps it was because her appearance had changed drastically since he had last seen her. Maybe it was a bit of both.

Lavender was truly a changed woman. Her once brilliant and enthralling eyes were now dull and distorted, as though she had spent a great deal of time crying or trying not to cry. Despite that they had an element to them which Ron was unable to explain, even to himself. Her eyes seemed to cut right through him now, more so than they had when the two had been in school together. Funny, that time seemed so long ago when it had really only been a few months.

Another aspect of Lavender that was greatly altered was her hair. Where it had once been long and brown, it was now shoulder length and blonde. In school it had had a certain wave or curl to it. Now it was straight and rather bland. There was a stiffness to it that not even an entire can of hairspray would bring. Ron was a bit taken aback by the difference in Lavender's appearance; she seemed so foreign for a girl he had once dated. Even her smile seemed altered somehow. That aspect of her was brighter, whiter, and also a bit less realistic to him. She hadn't looked like this when they had both stepped off the train at Platform 9 ¾ in June. Back then she had seemed fresh, energetic, and young. Now she seemed much older than she really was. The very thought saddened Ron.

"I see you're finally awake," Lavender said with what seemed like the fake cheerfulness that many people use to mask their inner pain.

"Uh…Yeah…Thanks for, um, letting me stay the night," Ron murmured in what seemed to be embarrassment, as he ran his hand through his hair.

"I hope you know that it's almost 3 in the afternoon."

"Actually I hadn't realized that. I never sleep this late. Ugh. I'm in terrible shape, aren't I?" Ron stated, finally remembering his actions from the last few days.

"Yes, yes you are, Ron. How long did you think you could keep up that streak in the pub? By the time we got back here you just about passed out. I had to stay at least partially awake to make sure that you didn't go into shock or something."

Lavender had a look of genuine concern on her face.

All Ron could do was shrug. He didn't want to admit that he could have continued his drinking binge for months if that's what it took to rid him of the horrible things he was constantly thinking. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Harry lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, spent from his fight with Voldemort or, the act that Ron saw as the greatest betrayal, Hermione and Malfoy going at it in Draco's room that night. Both thoughts made him feel physically ill. Alcohol was the only way that he could find to really, truly numb himself.

"Who is she?" Lavender asked after several moments of Ron's silence.

"What?" replied Ron in shock.

"You mentioned last night that the woman you loved ran off with some guy…you were drunk but you still said it. Who is she? Do I know her?"

The sad look of pain on Ron's face made Lavender think twice about what she had just asked. It was too soon, she realized, to ask Ron such an intimate detail about what had happened. Perhaps he would tell her later.

"I'm sorry," she started. "I had no right to ask. It was rude of me. I didn't mean anything by it. Forget I said anything."

That was one thing about Lavender that hadn't changed. She still talked on and on without stop.

Ron merely nodded and looked away, ashamed of the fact that he was about to break down.

"_First Harry, Now Hermione,"_ he thought. He couldn't stand the fact that he had virtually been abandoned by both of his best friends, one through death, the other through betrayal. It killed him inside every time he thought about it.

"You, uh, have a nice place, Lavender," murmured the redhead in an attempt to steer Lavender's attention from the still sore topic of Hermione and Draco.

Lavender looked around absently, taking in all of the objects around her. They meant nothing to her, really. They were just there, taking up space. Without knowing it Lavender was trying to fill a void in her life that had been left by a tragic event only a few months ago.

"Thanks. I just moved in a few months ago, after…"

Her voice trailed off. She couldn't bear to finish the sentence. She had never been all that close to Harry but his death had still affected her deeply. There was just something about losing a classmate that changed her deeply. She was no longer her giggly self. Lavender was a completely different person even to herself.

She didn't need to finish the sentence for Ron to grasp what she meant. The sad look in her eyes was all too familiar. When people saw Ron they often immediately thought of Harry. That was generally the way things went. Just as people had grown emotional seeing Harry and thinking of James and Lily, so was the case with the best friend of the now deceased Harry. Ron realized that nothing would ever be the same for him.

Lavender stuttered and then looked at Ron. His hair was all mussed from sleep and his eyes were a vibrant red. He really needed to clean up. Looking away from him she stood up and walked over to the table where she had placed a bag of groceries earlier.

"I bought you some things to get cleaned up at the store this morning. I didn't know what kind of shampoo you used or anything so I just grabbed the first thing I saw. I hope that's alright."

"Listen, Lavender, you didn't have to do that," Ron said, slightly embarrassed at the fact that his ex-girlfriend was taking care of him.

"I know I didn't have to. I wanted to. Besides, like I said last night, you're a mess. Heck, you said it yourself. Oh, hey, I got you some food too."

"Thanks."

"Yeah, I tried to remember what you liked to eat when we were dating. Then I remembered something. You eat practically anything."

Ron laughed at that.

It was true. He did have a penchant for eating whatever was placed in front of him with no thought as to the consequences on his stomach.


	14. Reconciliation

A/N: Once again, soooo sorry for the long wait. I started writing this chapter a while ago. Then my computer decided to crash and the hard drive had to be replaced so I lost it and had t start over again. I hope you like it. 

* * *

Tonks let out an exasperated sigh. Her students weren't listening to a word she was saying. Instead they seemed focused inward. Ron sat with his eyes on the laces of his shiny black shoes, literally twiddling his thumbs. He refused to look in the direction of Hermione or Draco. Hermione stared blankly at a spot on the wall, something highly unusual for the educationally minded young woman. Meanwhile, Draco was busy doodling on his textbook's pages. Needless to say they were in worlds all their own.

Tonks had noticed that something was going on for a few classes now. They had been back to Auror training for about a month now and never before had she seen Hermione not talk to Ron for so long. Well, actually it seemed more like Ron was avoiding Hermione and Draco, and Hermione was avoiding Draco. Every time one of them would try to go up to another they got silently dismissed. Tonks was getting fed up with it. It was one thing if they didn't feel like talking to each other for whatever reason, it was another if they were at a dead halt in their learning process. Not only would it reflect badly on Tonks, it was starting to affect their grades to the point where they were close to getting kicked out of the training program.

"That's it," Tonks said, slamming her book closed. "I want to know what is going on with you three and I want to know now. If you guys don't get your act together they're going to kick you out."

At the very least Tonks had hoped that this would get Hermione's attention. Instead there was no reaction from any of her students.

"Ron, what is going on here? Hermione's your best friend. Why won't you at least talk to her?"

"Correction. Hermione WAS my best friend. Past tense. As in she isn't anymore."

Hearing this Hermione got a look of sadness on her face. Standing up she rushed out the door towards the bathroom. Draco made a move to follow here but was stopped by Tonks' voice.

"Draco, stay where you are. I'll go after her. You and Ron try to talk something out or something."

With that Tonks left to follow Hermione, who she had seen rush into the bathroom.

The first thing that Tonks heard was not the first thing she thought she would hear. Instead of sobs the sound of retching could be heard coming from one of the toilet stalls. Then came the sound of Hermione crying as she flushed the toilet.

"Hermione?," whispered Tonks, gently.

"Yeah," sobbed Hermione.

"Are you feeling alright? What happened between you, Draco, and Ron?"

"We had a fight…kind of."

"Honey, how do you kind of have a fight? You either had a fight or you don't. Do you want to talk about what happened? And why exactly you just threw up, might be nice too."

"Ron…he…he kind of sort of walked in on me and Draco…" muttered Hermione from the other side of the stall door.

Sitting on the counter Tonks gave a puzzled look to the air.

"What do you mean "walked in on you and Draco"?"

Hermione realized what her words must seem like to her teacher and friend.

"Nothing like that. He walked in on us kissing. Then there was screaming and he just left. We haven't spoken to each other since. He came back one night and moved all of his stuff out of the manor. I was asleep so I didn't see him do it but I guess he's back at his Mum and Dad's house, now."

Tonks nodded quietly. That part certainly explained why Ron wasn't talking to Hermione or Draco but it didn't explain why Hermione wasn't talking to the other boy.

"Hmm…I see, I guess. But, Hermione, if you don't mind me asking, why aren't you talking to Draco?"

"What?" said Hermione, surprised.

"You aren't talking to Draco either, are you? Every time he tries to go up to you, you end up walking away the same way Ron does when you try to talk to him."

Tonks could see Hermione shifting her feed onto their sides from under the door. She remained silent for a few seconds and then spoke.

"We had a fight too."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. After Ron had been gone for about a week I started to get really worried about him. Draco passed it off as if nothing at all was wrong and said that I shouldn't worry. I got mad at him and walked off. So I haven't spoken to Draco or Ron in almost 2 months."

Hermione finished with a note of sadness in her voice. She wished that the man she loved and the man she felt was like her brother could get along for once. But she knew that that would probably never happen. Ron and Draco were like mongooses and snakes. They could never get along, no matter how hard you might try to make them get along.

"Hermione, I think you should try to talk to Draco first. And get something for your stomach. You look lie you're getting sick and we wouldn't want you throwing up all over the classroom because you have a stomach virus."

With that Tonks left her in the bathroom alone.

Hermione whispered, "I'll try," after the older woman had left. Hermione wanted with all her heart to be able to make up with Ron and Draco but she just didn't know if she could or when she should. This was going to be extremely difficult.

* * *

Back in the classroom Ron and Draco were giving each other the death glare. Neither young man wanted to speak to the other and yet…they knew that eventually, for the sake of Hermione, had to do it.

Draco decided that he should probably be the first to speak. It went against everything he had done in the past but he did it anyway. He would do anything to try and get Hermione back, even if it meant speaking to Ron kindly.

"Weas-Ron, we really should try and talk," started Draco timidly.

Ron glared at him.

"What's there to talk about? You have Hermione. Go, run away together. Be happy. Leave me to my own self pity and loneliness. Take my best friend away from me. Have fun while you're at it. I'm sure that that isn't too hard for you to do. You ARE Draco Malfoy, aren't you?" remarked Ron shortly.

"I don't exactly 'have Hermione' at this point," muttered Draco.

"Oh, poor Malfoy. Did she betray you too?" mocked Ron, a glint of evil happiness shining in his eyes.

"NO, YOU IDIOT!!! She never betrayed you. The reason we aren't talking is because she was worried sick about you and I brushed it off. She misses you, can't you see that? Not talking to you is killing her. She's not exactly taking care of herself. The house elves told me that she's sick. Stomach flu or something. She hasn't been to a doctor or anything because she's too worried about you," yelled Draco, startling the stubborn redhead.

" 'Mione's sick?" he whispered.

"Well, not very, but she hasn't been feeling well. If you had taken half a second to look past your anger you'd have noticed that she's been extremely pale lately. And if you were still at home you would have heard from the house elves that she's been throwing up constantly. Yet she still manages to come to training and she still manages to try and talk to you even though you don't want anything to do with her. You're being more of an insensitive jerk than I've ever been. And I know I was a big one in the past. Just forgive her. She can't help that she was in love with me, but maybe you can save your friendship."

"Now who's being an idiot, Draco? You're acting like she doesn't still love you. She does. I can see it every time I catch her looking in your direction. She never loved me. Just because I'm stubborn doesn't mean that I don't look at her and try to see what's going on with her. But I didn't know that she was sick. Maybe we should…I don't know…call a truce or something. For Hermione's sake," suggested Ron.

"Fine. But only for Hermione's sake. It's not like I want to be your friend or anything," responded Draco gruffly.

"Good, I don't want to be friends with you either," agreed Ron, stiffly holding out his hand to Draco.

The blonde took the other young man's hand and shook it. As they released their handshake the door opened and in walked a very tired looking Hermione. She looked surprised to see that neither boy was dead yet.

"Draco, may I speak to you please?" asked Hermione shyly.

"Hermione if you have anything to say to me you can say it to Ron too. We've called a truce."

Draco's words caught Hermione off guard. Timidly she looked at Ron, who nodded that it was true. Slowly a smile crossed Hermione's face.

"Thank you, guys. Draco, I'm really, really sorry that I accused you of not caring what happened to Ron. And Ron, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you I had feelings for Draco. I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did."

Ron nodded that he accepted her apology and offered one of his own.

"It's my own fault really. I shouldn't have barged in without knocking first. I should have told you how I felt sooner. And most of all I definitely overreacted. Can we go back to being friends now, 'Mione? Draco and I are worried about you."

Hermione looked nervously from her boyfriend to her best friend. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before managing to croak out a few words.

"Wh-why should you be worried about me?" implored Hermione.

"The house elves have said that you've been sick lately. That you've been throwing up all the time. Stuff like that. We just want you to make sure that you're alright. Ron and I don't want anything to happen to you. Will you please go to St. Mungo's? For us if not for yourself?" begged Draco.

Despite the fact that she was angry at Draco for spying on her, which is exactly what she knew he had done, she found it sweet that he cared about her enough to worry so much that she hadn't been feeling well.

"Alright. I'll go. Tomorrow, though. Right now I just want to go home and have something to eat and then rest. Thank you for worrying about me, you two," she said as she kissed each one of them on the cheek.

As she grabbed Draco's hand to lead him out of the room Draco turned to Ron.

"You know Weasley, if you feel ready you're welcome to move back in. I didn't destroy your room or anything."

"Thanks Draco. I might just take you up on that," replied Ron, a slight smile fading from his lips quicker than you would have noticed it was there.

He couldn't help but feel a bit sad as he watched Hermione leave holding on to Draco's hand but he also knew that he wanted Hermione to be happy and if she was only going to be happy with Draco he could only accept that.

* * *

**What do you guys think? Okay. Read/review always appreciated. Oh and no this is NOT the end. I'm not done yet. not even close...well...maybe close. But not yet. **


	15. Beautiful Dreamer

Disclaimer: I know I forgot to do it with the last chapter but the only thing I own is the plot really...so yeah...That's mine. You steal it and I'll be mad. I'll get my virtual detective dog to hunt you down...just kidding...but that wouldn't be funny...

* * *

Hermione sat in the Healer's office at St. Mungo's waiting for her test results. To say she was calm would have been a blatant lie. Something about this visit to the doctor had Hermione more on edge than any other visit she had ever taken. Deep inside her she knew that there was a possibility of what she was thinking but… No. She didn't want to think about it. She was only there because Ron and Draco had begged her to go.

She was so deeply immersed in her thoughts that when the doctor came in she just about had a heart attack. Silently she placed the envelope that she was holding on the desk in front of her and opened it. Pulling out the contents she read over them quickly and then began to address Hermione.

"Ms. Granger, I'm happy to inform you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. I would, however, advise that you lay off the more intense part of your schooling until at least August or September. Otherwise you could have serious complications," stated the healer simply.

"Wait, what? If there's nothing wrong with me then why should I have to stop doing parts of my Auror training?"

The healer gave Hermione a confused look before she started to explain the situation.

On the way out of the office Hermione looked utterly shocked. How could this happen? Well, she knew how it could happen but… That was the least of her problems. How was she supposed to tell Ron and Draco? Draco might be willing to see reason in a situation like this but Ron? He'd go crazy. He'd end up punching something or someone.

"I can't tell them yet," decided Hermione.

* * *

The first person Hermione met when she returned to the Manor was Ron.

"How did your appointment go? Everything okay?" inquired Ron.

Hermione, distracted, didn't exactly understand him at first.

"What? Oh, yeah. Everything went fine. Stomach virus. That's all. I'll be okay. She just told me to rest up and take it easy at training. No worries," Hermione lied.

Her head was still swimming as she made her way up to her room. She'd wait until the very last possible moment to tell Ron and Draco. That was the only thing she could do.

Up in her room she moved in front of her mirror to look at herself as she changed into her nightgown. In about 2 months her flat stomach wouldn't be flat anymore. That would be…around the end of April, if not before. To think, she was going to be a mom.

"Ugh. What am I talking about? I can't be a mom now. I'm 19. My 18 year old boyfriend got me preggers. What am I going to do?" she whispered to herself, so low that not even the house elves with their large ears could hear her.

Hermione decided to lay down on her bed and take a nap. That usually helped.

Soon she was sound asleep and in a dream world all her own.

"Congratulations, Hermione," came a familiar voice.

The voice was followed by a body materializing out of thin air. The body, once again, belonged to Harry. Just like in her previous dream she saw him standing before her once more.

"Hello, Harry," she said stiffly.

"So, you're going to have a baby in a few months. I hope you're planning on naming it after me."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at her friend's remark. Shaking her head she replied.

"I don't think so, Harry. I'm sorry. You know Draco would never go for that."

"I guess you're right. I'm still mad at you for that by the way."

"I knew you would be. But I'm sorry. I love him. And now…"

"You're having his baby. You have to tell him. You do know that right? And Ron?"

"I know, I know. I just…don't want to tell them yet. I'm not ready. You understand that, don't you?"

Harry nodded. He wouldn't betray his friends trust and tell her she was stupid for not telling them. It was her life. He would just have to deal with that, just like Ron had learned to deal with Hermione and Draco's relationship.

"I can tell you're not ready. But you will be eventually. You'll make a good mum Hermione," said Harry, a touch of softness in his voice.

His words caught Hermione off guard.

"You really think so? I don't know if I'm ready to have something growing inside of me."

Harry laughed, "I'm sure no one's ever ready to have something growing inside of them. But you seriously will make a good mum. And I'm sure Draco will make a good dad, if a bit snakey for my tastes."

When Hermione flashed him one of her looks of disbelief he corrected himself.

"He'll make a great dad. I swear. Your child will have fun with him. I'm sure the baby will be just as smart as you are…and just as devious as a Malfoy should be. You do know he'll probably end up in Slytherin."

"Who says it's going to be a boy? I could have a girl," said Hermione, mock insult in her voice.

Again Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"Good point. Alright, I'm going to go now. Have fun. And please tell them soon. Everything will turn out for the best. But you still might want to restrain Ron so he doesn't kill Draco when you tell him."

With a wink Harry's body started to fade away until nothing was left but a smile. Then even that was gone.

Hermione woke up feeling a great deal better than she had when she fell asleep. That, however, did not mean that she had changed her mind about when she was going to tell Ron and Draco. For now they would just have to be in the dark.

* * *

A/N Yes another Dream Chapter...what can I say? It's the only way to really incorporate Harry into it. And yes...Bad Hermione for not telling them...but whatever...::sticks tongue out:: Well, what do you think? Let me know. If I get loads of reviews I'll post the next chappie. It's already written so ya know so All I have to do is press the add chapter button. Besides, you know I love reviews... 


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